I was wondering if anyone tried one of the recent mini PCs as a Steam Remote box. Thus, the box that creates the game and streams it to the Steam Link App. I was stumbling upon multiple Steam docker images, which make this quite easy to setup.
If you do that, what about performance? What about power consumption when the system is not used? @wendell Maybe a nice test case for the next mini PC review? Combination between rendering and stream encoding to serve the video on AMD GPUs?
I am not expecting insane performance, but to play maybe some older titles and stuff that run on Lutris on go (tailscale?) seems a nice setup
Sure it could be used, I don’t see why not. Just install a distro with DE (or WM, up to you), install Steam and you’re done.
GPUs have media encoders that minimally impact 3D performance. Also all the AMD mini PCs have CPUs wildly faster compared to the GPU so there’s leftover speed for encoding on it too.
But why do that instead of buying an handheld PC? There are lots to chose from and they’re equipped with the same CPUs. Price is also close.
I agree, a handheld like the SteamDeck will give a better performance on the go for sure. For me this is more in the “One Machine does it all” territory. Maybe I will find time in the futur to try it myself
Contrary to some of the other posters, I’d urge you to keep exploring this, with a small twist.
I’ve set up TV-connected Minisforum PCs at a couple of sites now, running Bazzite for a Steamdeck-like experience on large screens.
Then I run Sunshine on them, streaming to devices running Moonlight. This lowers bandwidth reqs & latency vis-a-vis Steam Link.
As an added bonus you could then use site-to-site VPNs to network play across locations. Or use Tailscale to provide on-the-go access to your Steam library from any client, on any network.
So far I’ve done this with a mix of Minisforum UM890, AtomMan G7 and AtomMan G7 Ti machines. The G7 variants excel at all 1080p gaming, and most 4k gaming if you’re willing to fiddle with graphic settings to take advantage of AFMF/DLSS/FSR (depending on your GPU) or VRR if your displays support it).
The UM890 doesn’t have the GPU horsepower of the G7s but has Oculink so combined with the DEG1 and your own GPU, can be a lower cost option if you’re willing to DIY it a bit.
Hi @pdrayton thx for sharing.
Yeah, something like that would be great. The external GPU way is a little bit too much for me, I simply wouldn’t need it. Still a valid option.
Hopefully I will find time this year to try it out.